More Details on the 434 Vanderbilt Renovation

Last week scaffolding came down at 434 Vanderbilt Avenue, the formerly rundown Fort Greene townhouse that’s been under construction for almost a year. Sean Beckerman of Complimentary Colors Construction Corp, which is owned by Michael Sheehan, got in touch about their work on the project; they took over about six months ago after two other contractors fell through and the renovation was put on hold. The building, unsurprisingly, needed to be gutted, but a previous contractor set up the interior steel structure incorrectly. Complimentary Colors reworked it and corrected a 4-inch lean to the building. And while the LPC asked that they reuse at least 60 percent of the original brick, there wasn’t enough to salvage. They started the facade renovation by removing all the old bricks and mortar, then tied the new cinder blocks to the new interior steel structure. They corrected the 4-inch lean by stepping the bricks in from left to right. They rebricked the entire front of the house with a new brick approved by the LPC. They also rebuilt the front and rear pitched roofs. The reason the reno is missing a full cornice is because the homeowner can’t fund it at this point. The interior setup consists of an owners duplex with two upper floor rental units. And keep an eye out for more: The firm was asked to look at a house across the street, where the owner is considering a four-story addition. What a nice job they did saving this French Second Empire-style home, built back in 1866.
Transformation for 434 Vanderbilt Avenue [Brownstoner]
Salvation for Decrepit Fort Greene Townhouse [Brownstoner] GMAP